ไม่ใส่น้ำตาล
mai sai nam-tan
ไม่ใส่น้ำตาล (mai sai nam-tan) is the Thai phrase for "no sugar".
Use this phrase when ordering food or drinks to specify that no sugar should be added during preparation.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of ไม่ (not), ใส่ (to put/add) and น้ำตาล (sugar), literally meaning "not put sugar".
Which one should you use?
While ไม่ใส่น้ำตาล specifically means "do not add sugar", you may encounter ไม่หวาน, which means "not sweet". Although ไม่หวาน can be used to request a dish that is not sweet, it is less precise than ไม่ใส่น้ำตาล when ordering a drink without sugar.
How does it change in a sentence?
To emphasize your request and mean "not a single bit of sugar," you can add เลย to the end of the phrase to say ไม่ใส่น้ำตาลเลย.
How do you pronounce it?
mai sai nam-tan
Did you know?
- The word น้ำตาล (sugar) is a compound of น้ำ (water) and ตาล (palmyra palm), reflecting the historical use of palm sap as the primary sweetener.
- In Thailand, many street vendors add sugar to almost everything, including savory dishes like papaya salad or soups. If you do not explicitly use ไม่ใส่น้ำตาล, you should expect a sweet profile even in non-dessert foods.
- The word for sugar, น้ำตาล, is also used to describe the color 'brown' in certain contexts, such as 'brown sugar' or simply 'brown' in older descriptions.
Examples in context
- ไม่เอาน้ำตาลใส่ให้เลยDon't put any sugar at all.
- เอาผลไม้สดๆได้ไหม ไม่เอาน้ำตาลCan I have fresh fruit without sugar?
- ไม่ใส่น้ำตาลในอาหารNo sugar in the food, please.
- อยากได้อาหารไม่หวานค่ะI would like unsweetened food, please.
- ขอไม่ใส่น้ำตาลครับkho mai sai nam tan khrapI would like no sugar, please.
- กาแฟนี้ไม่ใส่น้ำตาลใช่ไหมคะka-fae ni mai sai nam tan chai mai khaThis coffee doesn't have sugar, right?
- ฉันสั่งแบบไม่ใส่น้ำตาลค่ะchan sang baep mai sai nam tan khaI ordered it without sugar.
Example conversation
A man is ordering a drink at a cafe from a female barista.
- ธีรภัทร Theeraphatขอชามะนาวไม่ใส่น้ำตาลครับkho cha ma-nao mai sai nam tan khrapI would like a lemon tea with no sugar.
- ณิชา Nichaได้ค่ะ ไม่ใส่น้ำตาลเลยนะคะdai kha, mai sai nam tan loei na khaCertainly, no sugar at all, right?
- ธีรภัทร Theeraphatใช่ครับ ขอบคุณครับchai khrap, khop khun khrapYes, thank you.
- ณิชา Nichaรอสักครู่นะคะro sak khru na khaPlease wait a moment.
